STATE REPORT10.18.2020

STATE REPORT10.18.2020 SUMMARY•

As we continue to work with each of you on data quality and data reporting, we will continue to add relevant data to our joint understanding. We greatly appreciate the feedback and we use this to continually improve. This week, we have included the data reported to HHS from your hospitals regarding admissions and next, we will include PPE data reported.•Missouri is in the red zone for cases, indicating 101 or more new cases per 100,000 population last week, with the 10th highest rate in the country. Missouri is in the red zone for test positivity, indicating a rate at or above 10.1%, with the 8th highest rate in the country.•Missouri has seen an increase in new cases and an increase in test positivity over the last week.•The following three counties had the highest number of new cases over the last 3 weeks: 1. Jackson County, 2. St. Louis County, and 3. Greene County. These counties represent 27.6% of new cases in Missouri.•88% of all counties in Missouri have moderate or high levels of community transmission (yellow, orange, or red zones), with 62% having high levels of community transmission (red zone).•During the week of Oct 5 -Oct 11, 19% of nursing homes had at least one new resident COVID-19 case, 34% had at least one new staff COVID-19 case, and 9% had at least one new resident COVID-19 death.•Missouri had 216 new cases per 100,000 population in the last week, compared to a national average of 117 per 100,000.•Current staff deployed from the federal government as assets to support the state response are: 69 to support operations activities from FEMA; 5 to support operations activities from ASPR; 35 to support medical activities from VA; and 1 to support operations activities from VA.•Between Oct 10 -Oct 16, on average, 173 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 221 patients with suspected COVID-19 were reported as newly admitted each day to hospitals in Missouri. An average of greater than 95% of hospitals reported either new confirmed or new suspected COVID patients each day during this period.RECOMMENDATIONS•We have included cases, test positivity, and deaths by month in the back of your packet to show the time sequence in Missouri and the country as a whole. These demonstrate the impact of comprehensive mitigation efforts when implemented effectively and that partial or incomplete mitigation leads to prolonged community spread and increased fatalities.•Mitigation efforts must be strengthened, especially in areas with increasing cases and test positivity. These must include mask wearing, physical distancing, hand hygiene, avoiding crowds in public and social gatherings in private, and ensuring flu immunizations.•In red and orange counties, both public and private gatherings should be as small as possible and optimally, not extend beyond immediate family.•Keep testing levels high across the state, particularly in red and orange counties, to quickly identify positives so they can isolate themselves and prevent ongoing transmission.•Fully deploy Abbott BinaxNOW tests statewide in sentinel sites and populations; weekly surveillance data will proactively identify emerging hotspots where immediate action should be taken to stop the spread within communities. All antigen tests must be reported with both the number of positive results and total tests conducted; positives must be reported as COVID cases. Repeat testing of individuals as surveillance with confirmation of all positives with nucleic acid testing is the optimal use of antigen tests.•With 34% of nursing homes reporting at least one COVID positive staff member, work with nursing homes to trace exposures of positive staff to decrease introduction of community transmission to nursing homes.•Work with rural communities to demonstrate how real the disease is in their communities.•Ensure university students continue their mitigation behaviors to ensure no further outbreaks on or off campus as symptomatic cases and cases identified through surveillance testing decline.•Provide specific mitigation messaging to individuals 65 years and older through senior citizen networks.•Ensure all hospitals have access to antivirals and antibodies and ensure early use as treatment (within 48 hours).•Specific, detailed guidance on community mitigation measures can be found on the CDC website.